Drenched as under-18s entertain with win number four

On an extremely wet Saturday morning at Gawthorpe we were treated to an entertaining game with five goals, two red cards, a good number of yellow cards and three more points for our youth team in a 3-2 win against Ipswich.

Showers – that was the forecast we were given. In truth that’s what we got although just the one shower that lasted the entire game and which at times was torrential. It left us all wet through and shivery, but warmed by a really good performance from our under-18s.

Gawthorpe can be a pleasant place to watch football on occasions, but on others it isn’t. There was just a hint of rain in the air as we made our way from the entrance to the pitch, that became fine rain, the sort that wets you through, before becoming a serious downpour for much of the second half.

We needed some good football and that’s what we got but it didn’t start particularly well for us. Ipswich took a fifth minute lead following a defensive slip, might have had another and then crashed the ball against the woodwork with a shot from just outside the box.

Without some of the players who have gone out on loan, although Ethan Kershaw was on the bench and did come on, I wondered whether it might have weakened us too much, but I needn’t have had any such fears as we turned the game very much in our favour.

Matty Rain (pictured), appropriately in this weather, crashed home a shot from distance to equalise on 11 minutes and we began to look much the better side. We pushed forward with pace and no little trickery with the two wide players, Rhys Fenlon and Chris (Cricky) Conn-Clarke, particularly impressive and it was the latter who twice hit the woodwork himself.

Surely another goal had to come and it did some seven minutes before half time when Kai Smith scored from close range. It was the least we deserved as we went into half time with a lead.

The first quarter of an hour or so of the second half was interesting to say the least. I’d shown concern at the referee very early in the game. He spoke to one Ipswich player in such an over officious manner I suggested there could be some bookings.

I was right, but with an hour gone we were down to ten a side. Ipswich were the first to lose a man. He’d been carded in the first half for pulling Kian Yari’s shirt and then got second yellow for a foul on the same player.

That was just six minutes into the second half. I thought, playing against ten and already having the lead should help us to go on and win it comfortably. I shouldn’t have bothered with such thoughts. Just seven minutes later, our captain Richard Taylor was shown a straight red for giving away a penalty. Two minutes later, after a lot of kerfuffle, the Ipswich player sent Harry Allen the wrong way and it was all square at 2-2. Gone was our one man advantage and gone was our lead, but the latter not for long.

Just two minutes later and we were back in front. when Mitchell George finished well with a shot from inside the box. This time we wouldn’t lose the lead again.

Ipswich did have a good amount of possession but we always looked in control. More than once we might have added another goal on the counter but we didn’t need it and, despite the referee adding on over five minutes of stoppage time, we saw the game out very well to record a fourth win in five games.